In 1993 Oliver and Hyde conducted a meta-analysis on gender differences in sexuality. The current study updated that analysis with current research and methods. Evolutionary psychology, cognitive ...social learning theory, social structural theory, and the gender similarities hypothesis provided predictions about gender differences in sexuality. We analyzed gender differences in 30 reported sexual behaviors and attitudes for 834 individual samples uncovered in literature searches and 7 large national data sets. In support of evolutionary psychology, results from both the individual studies and the large data sets indicated that men reported slightly more sexual experience and more permissive attitudes than women for most of the variables. However, as predicted by the gender similarities hypothesis, most gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors were small. Exceptions were masturbation incidence, pornography use, casual sex, and attitudes toward casual sex, which all yielded medium effect sizes in which male participants reported more sexual behavior or permissive attitudes than female participants. Most effect sizes reported in the current study were comparable to those reported in Oliver and Hyde's study. In support of cognitive social learning theory, year of publication moderated the magnitude of effect sizes, with gender differences for some aspects of sexuality increasing over time and others decreasing. As predicted by social structural theory, nations and ethnic groups with greater gender equity had smaller gender differences for some reported sexual behaviors than nations and ethnic groups with less gender equity. Gender differences decreased with age of the sample for some sexual behaviors and attitudes.
Summary Background Three subtypes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been pathologically defined on the basis of the distribution of neurofibrillary tangles: typical AD, hippocampal-sparing AD, and ...limbic-predominant AD. Compared with typical AD, hippocampal-sparing AD has more neurofibrillary tangles in the cortex and fewer in the hippocampus, whereas the opposite pattern is seen in limbic-predominant AD. We aimed to determine whether MRI patterns of atrophy differ between these subtypes and whether structural neuroimaging could be a useful predictor of pathological subtype at autopsy. Methods We identified patients who had been followed up in the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (Rochester, MN, USA) or in the Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry (Rochester, MN, USA) between 1992 and 2005. To be eligible for inclusion, participants had to have had dementia, AD pathology at autopsy (Braak stage ≥IV and intermediate to high probability of AD), and an ante-mortem MRI. Cases were assigned to one of three pathological subtypes—hippocampal-sparing, limbic-predominant, and typical AD—on the basis of neurofibrillary tangle counts in hippocampus and cortex and ratio of hippocampal to cortical burden, without reference to neuronal loss. Voxel-based morphometry and atlas-based parcellation were used to compare patterns of grey matter loss between groups and with age-matched control individuals. Neuroimaging was obtained at the time of first presentation. To summarise pair-wise group differences, we report the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC). Findings Of 177 eligible patients, 125 (71%) were classified as having typical AD, 33 (19%) as having limbic-predominant AD, and 19 (11%) as having hippocampal-sparing AD. Most patients with typical (98 78%) and limbic-predominant AD (31 94%) initially presented with an amnestic syndrome, but fewer patients with hippocampal-sparing AD (eight 42%) did. The most severe medial temporal atrophy was recorded in patients with limbic-predominant AD, followed by those with typical disease, and then those with hippocampal-sparing AD. Conversely, the most severe cortical atrophy was noted in patients with hippocampal-sparing AD, followed by those with typical disease, and then limbic-predominant AD. The ratio of hippocampal to cortical volumes allowed the best discrimination between subtypes (p<0·0001; three-way AUROC 0·52 95% CI 0·47–0·52; ratio of AUROC to chance classification 3·1 2·8–3·1). Patients with typical AD and non-amnesic initial presentation had a significantly higher ratio of hippocampal to cortical volumes (median 0·045 IQR 0·035–0·056) than did those with an amnesic presentation (0·041 0·031–0·057; p=0·001). Interpretation Patterns of atrophy on MRI differ across the pathological subtypes of AD. MRI regional volumetric analysis can reliably track the distribution of neurofibrillary tangle pathology and can predict pathological subtype of AD at autopsy. Funding US National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Aging).
Understanding the risk of birth defects associated with Zika virus infection during pregnancy may help guide communication, prevention, and planning efforts. In the absence of Zika virus, ...microcephaly occurs in approximately 7 per 10 000 live births.
To estimate the preliminary proportion of fetuses or infants with birth defects after maternal Zika virus infection by trimester of infection and maternal symptoms.
Completed pregnancies with maternal, fetal, or infant laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika virus infection and outcomes reported in the continental United States and Hawaii from January 15 to September 22, 2016, in the US Zika Pregnancy Registry, a collaboration between the CDC and state and local health departments.
Laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika virus infection in a maternal, placental, fetal, or infant sample.
Birth defects potentially Zika associated: brain abnormalities with or without microcephaly, neural tube defects and other early brain malformations, eye abnormalities, and other central nervous system consequences.
Among 442 completed pregnancies in women (median age, 28 years; range, 15-50 years) with laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika virus infection, birth defects potentially related to Zika virus were identified in 26 (6%; 95% CI, 4%-8%) fetuses or infants. There were 21 infants with birth defects among 395 live births and 5 fetuses with birth defects among 47 pregnancy losses. Birth defects were reported for 16 of 271 (6%; 95% CI, 4%-9%) pregnant asymptomatic women and 10 of 167 (6%; 95% CI, 3%-11%) symptomatic pregnant women. Of the 26 affected fetuses or infants, 4 had microcephaly and no reported neuroimaging, 14 had microcephaly and brain abnormalities, and 4 had brain abnormalities without microcephaly; reported brain abnormalities included intracranial calcifications, corpus callosum abnormalities, abnormal cortical formation, cerebral atrophy, ventriculomegaly, hydrocephaly, and cerebellar abnormalities. Infants with microcephaly (18/442) represent 4% of completed pregnancies. Birth defects were reported in 9 of 85 (11%; 95% CI, 6%-19%) completed pregnancies with maternal symptoms or exposure exclusively in the first trimester (or first trimester and periconceptional period), with no reports of birth defects among fetuses or infants with prenatal exposure to Zika virus infection only in the second or third trimesters.
Among pregnant women in the United States with completed pregnancies and laboratory evidence of possible recent Zika infection, 6% of fetuses or infants had evidence of Zika-associated birth defects, primarily brain abnormalities and microcephaly, whereas among women with first-trimester Zika infection, 11% of fetuses or infants had evidence of Zika-associated birth defects. These findings support the importance of screening pregnant women for Zika virus exposure.
Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors are typically believed to be large, yet recent evidence suggests that some gender differences in sexuality are much smaller than common knowledge ...would suggest. This article reviews gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors as reported by major meta-analyses and large datasets. In particular, this article reviews gender differences in heterosexual intercourse, masturbation, pornography use, attitudes toward premarital sex, and gender differences in same-gender sexuality. Evolutionary psychology, social cognitive learning theory, and social structural theory are explored as possible explanations for gender differences in sexuality.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly and other fetal brain abnormalities. Reports indicate that the duration of detectable viral RNA in serum after symptom onset is brief. ...In a recent case report involving a severely affected fetus, Zika virus RNA was detected in maternal serum 10 weeks after symptom onset, longer than the duration of RNA detection in serum previously reported. This report summarizes the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pregnant women with prolonged detection of Zika virus RNA in serum that were reported to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry.
Data were obtained from the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry, an enhanced surveillance system of pregnant women with laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection. For this case series, we defined prolonged detection of Zika virus RNA as Zika virus RNA detection in serum by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 14 or more days after symptom onset or, for women not reporting signs or symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease (asymptomatic), 21 or more days after last possible exposure to Zika virus.
Prolonged Zika virus RNA detection in serum was identified in four symptomatic pregnant women up to 46 days after symptom onset and in one asymptomatic pregnant woman 53 days postexposure. Among the five pregnancies, one pregnancy had evidence of fetal Zika virus infection confirmed by histopathologic examination of fetal tissue, three pregnancies resulted in live births of apparently healthy neonates with no reported abnormalities, and one pregnancy is ongoing.
Zika virus RNA was detected in the serum of five pregnant women beyond the previously estimated timeframe. Additional real-time RT-PCR testing of pregnant women might provide more data about prolonged detection of Zika virus RNA and the possible diagnostic, epidemiologic, and clinical implications for pregnant women.
Objectives
To determine the association between multiple chronic conditions and risk of incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Olmsted County, ...Minnesota.
Participants
Cognitively normal individuals (N = 2,176) enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (MCSA).
Measurements
Participants were randomly selected from the community, evaluated by a physician, and underwent neuropsychometric testing at baseline and at 15‐month intervals to assess diagnoses of MCI and dementia. Information on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for chronic conditions in the 5 years before enrollment was electronically captured using the Rochester Epidemiology Project medical records linkage system. Multimorbidity was defined as having two or more chronic conditions, and the association between multimorbidity and MCI and dementia was examined using Cox proportional hazards models.
Results
Of 2,176 cognitively normal participants (mean age ± standard deviation 78.5 ± 5.2; 50.6% male), 1,884 (86.6%) had multimorbidity. The risk of MCI or dementia was higher in persons with multimorbidity (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.82) than in those with one or no chronic condition. The HR was of greater magnitude in persons with four or more conditions (HR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.21–2.13) than in those with two or three conditions (HR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.76–1.39) and for men with multimorbidity(HR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.01–2.31) than for women with multimorbidity (HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.83–1.74), compared to those with one or no chronic condition.
Conclusion
In older adults, having multiple chronic conditions is associated with greater risk of MCI and dementia. This is consistent with the hypothesis that multiple etiologies may contribute to MCI and late‐life dementia. Preventing chronic diseases may be beneficial in delaying or preventing MCI and dementia.
Abstract Background We probe the adolescent gender difference in depression, asking two critical questions. First, most longitudinal studies of gender differences in adolescent depression date from ...the 1980 s and 1990 s, raising the need for a body of evidence on whether the developmental pattern is similar or different today. Second, despite the importance of chronicity to depression, we do not know whether there is a gender difference in the chronicity burden of the disorder. Methods In a contemporary longitudinal sample of U.S. adolescents, depression symptoms were assessed at ages 11, 13, 15, and 18, and depression diagnoses were assessed at age 20. To capture the chronicity burden of clinical depression, we assessed for every depressive episode in an individual's lifetime and summed the total number of days spent in episode. Results A gender difference emerged at age 13 for depression symptoms and at age 13-14 for diagnoses. These findings are similar to those in the 1980 s and 1990 s despite many social changes that have occurred. However, the magnitude of the gender difference in symptoms at ages 13 and 15 may be larger than those documented previously. Latent growth curve modeling of depression symptoms indicated that girls’ symptoms accelerated early in adolescence whereas boys’ symptoms accelerated later. Although more girls (24%) than boys (15%) experienced major depression or dysthymia by age 20, the chronicity burden among those with depression showed gender similarities (median = 2.6% days depressed for boys and 2.4% for girls). Limitations Depression diagnoses were assessed retrospectively; however, symptom data were assessed prospectively, and symptom and diagnostic data converged. The sample was also predominantly White, limiting generalizability. Conclusions In a contemporary adolescent sample we observed gender differences in depression symptoms and diagnoses beginning at age 13. We documented distinct developmental trajectories of depression for adolescent girls and boys, suggesting different developmental windows for depression prevention programs. We also discovered a gender similarity in the chronicity burden of clinical depression.
In this article, we use meta-analysis to analyze gender differences in recent studies of mathematics performance. First, we meta-analyzed data from 242 studies published between 1990 and 2007, ...representing the testing of 1,286,350 people. Overall,
d
= 0.05, indicating no gender difference, and variance ratio = 1.08, indicating nearly equal male and female variances. Second, we analyzed data from large data sets based on probability sampling of U.S. adolescents over the past 20 years: the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Effect sizes for the gender difference ranged between -0.15 and +0.22. Variance ratios ranged from 0.88 to 1.34. Taken together, these findings support the view that males and females perform similarly in mathematics.
•Phonetic PPAOS is characterized predominantly by distorted sound substitutions.•Prosodic PPAOS is characterized predominantly by slow, segmented speech.•The predominant clinical characteristics of ...PPAOS can be quantified reliably.•PPAOS subtypes are associated with distinct imaging patterns on MRI, DTI, and FDG-PET.
Primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) is a clinical syndrome in which apraxia of speech is the initial indication of neurodegenerative disease. Prior studies of PPAOS have identified hypometabolism, grey matter atrophy, and white matter tract degeneration in the frontal gyri, precentral cortex, and supplementary motor area (SMA). Recent clinical observations suggest two distinct subtypes of PPAOS may exist. Phonetic PPAOS is characterized predominantly by distorted sound substitutions. Prosodic PPAOS is characterized predominantly by slow, segmented speech. Demographic, clinical, and neuroimaging data (MRI, DTI, and FDG-PET) were analyzed to validate these subtypes and explore anatomic correlates. The Phonetic subtype demonstrated bilateral involvement of the SMA, precentral gyrus, and cerebellar crus. The Prosodic subtype demonstrated more focal involvement in the SMA and right superior cerebellar peduncle. The findings provide converging evidence that differences in the reliably determined predominant clinical characteristics of AOS are associated with distinct imaging patterns, independent of severity.